Badgers Use Mason To Outwrestle No. 9 Purdue

MADISON, Wis. — Nothing much unusual happened Sunday up at the Kohl Center between Wisconsin and Purdue. Nothing much pretty, either. This was just another typical Big Ten match.

Tumbling bodies and scrums in search of loose balls. That is what this affair was all about--that and a whole lot of Wisconsin guard Sean Mason.

Mason made his presence obvious in the final eight minutes, leading the 24th-ranked Badgers to a 61-56 victory over the ninth-ranked Boilermakers.

"We didn't have an answer for him," Purdue coach Gene Keady said after Mason had riddled the Boilermakers with 25 points.

"Sean had a brilliant game and important points," Badgers coach Dick Bennett said. "But concentrating on him slights players like Mike Kelley, who did things maybe only a few of us appreciate. And Ty Calderwood, who took charge against their pressure."

Kelley, Wisconsin's defensive terror, harassed Jaraan Cornell mercilessly and lured him into early foul trouble, holding the Boilermakers' leading scorer to seven shots and 11 points. Calderwood had 11 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals in 35 minutes.

While the Wisconsin defense held Purdue to 39.6 percent shooting, Mason threw his teammates on his shoulders after the Boilermakers closed within one point with 8 minutes 40 seconds left.

Mason hit a three-point basket from the left side at 8:09 and then, after one of Calderwood's steals, made two foul shots at 7:05 that pushed his team up a a half-dozen. Mason was on his way to scoring 13 of the Badgers' next 15 points.

Still, after a Cornell three at 1:02, Purdue was back to within two, but Calderwood drove and kicked the ball out to freshman forward Charlie Wills on the left side.

"Why wouldn't I take the shot?" Wills said of the shot that rippled through with just 28 seconds remaining, delivering the dagger that finished Purdue.

"In the second half," Mason said, "I was feeling it a little bit and they were leaving me open a little bit. I usually don't get those looks and when I hit that three, it got us going."

"It was the game I expected it to be," Keady said. "Hard fought. They were very intense. Their intensity was about like ours. . . . But Mason's developed as a player over the years, and older kids play smarter, they understand to be patient when you need to be and do what they need to do.